Home sales fall off a cliff with no lifeline in sight

I think by now we can agree that the government’s efforts to help home owners stave off foreclosure and to prop up the housing market has not worked.

The evidence? Sales of existing homes in July fell to their lowest level on record. That’s scarier than it looks; the National Association of Realtors has only been keeping track since 1999. But still. It’s been 2-1/2 years since former President Bush visited Novadebt in Freehold Township to kick off the government’s first attempt at helping distressed home owners.

So here is the question: Did the government only delay the inevitable?

*Yes. The United States has a perfectly fine system in place to deal with home owners in default. It’s called the foreclosure process. When a home owner can’t afford their payments, the lender takes control of it and tries to re-sell it. Why mess with it?

*No. Home owners got swindled by agreeing to loans that were sold by people not looking out for their best interest. The government should have protected them by regulating the mortgage industry much tighter. Since it didn’t, this is the next best option.

*Maybe. The government has delayed the inevitable, but that’s not a bad thing. At least now the economy is in better shape to absorb foreclosures. Employers aren’t shedding jobs. Banks are healthier and can loan money to buyers with solid credit histories. And if home owners are pushed out, at least now they have a chance to get back on their feet.

Where do you stand?

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About Michael Diamond

Michael L. Diamond is a business writer at the Asbury Park Press, covering workforce and the economy. He worked at newspapers in Pennsylvania and California before joining the Press in 1999.

One Response to Home sales fall off a cliff with no lifeline in sight

if you look at this report the striking part is not one NEW home over 750,000 sold in the entire country !…what does that tell you

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Michael DiamondMichael L. Diamond is a business writer at the Asbury Park Press, covering workforce and the economy. He worked at newspapers in Pennsylvania and California before joining the Press in 1999.E-mail Michael